This Stupid Shitball
by LencestuousSlurry
Summary: Karkat, Sollux, and Terezi somehow end up agreeing to go to a human school. Thinking they might scare the other students and threaten their own safety, the school asks them to disguise themselves as humans. Will probably end up romantic, at least two pairings are planned. Tell me if you think I should add anything else!
1. Chapter 1

**My friend needed something to read on her flight, so I wrote this up in a couple days to keep her company. At the time, I wasn't planning on publishing it, so it might see kind of... I don't know. Weird. I do not own Homestuck or any characters used.**

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"You won't... _Eat _any students, right?" a short, round man clutched a shiny black ballpoint pen to the point of white knuckles as he was stared down across his own desk by three new enrollees. Beads of sweat rolled down his balding head and his whole face was red and flustered. One grinned with very sharp, sinister teeth, while the other two looked so bored they could die.

"We won't," one of the bored ones lisped matter-of-factly, "But I'm not making any guarantees for _her_." His finger was pointed at the dead center of the grinning one's chest.

"Oh, come on," she cackled, "I'll only taste them a bit, you know that."

"Sure, Terezi, whatever. As long as your teeth stay out of them, I think we'll all be fine," the lispy one retorted.

"Yes, please, keep your teeth out of other students. We've made most of the teachers in the building aware of your, er, _special_ situation," the man behind the desk squeaked, visibly shaking and obviously terrified by all three.

"Can we just get this shitty 'conference' over with and start attending the retarded human classes?" the third one finally spoke is an irritated voice as he scowled.

"Well, the school board and I have decided that it might not be very wise to let the other students know about you three, so I have to ask that you, um, disguise yourselves," now the man looked about ready to faint.

"Whatever. We'll look like ugly-ass humans if it'll make the rest of them feel better about their lousy species, right, Sollux?" the grumpy one asked lazily as he pushed himself from the hard, uncomfortable chair he had been seated in.

"Yeah, that's cool," the lispy one mumbled.

"Do we really have to?" Terezi protested. "I don't want to look like some lame human! You can't make me!"

"Terezi, please. Would you rather spend the rest of your time on this shit-ball hanging with your stupid Scalemates?"

"Yes, Karkat, I would very much enjoy that," she stood from the chair, arms crossed over her chest, ready to leave or fight.

"_Oh_ no you don't!" the first one to speak stood as well, "You promised that you'd go through with this."

"I don't even see why you think human school is so important, Sollux," Terezi _hmph_ed. "It's not like _we'll _ever use any of this information."

"Honestly, I don't, either," Karkat shrugged. "But it's something to do, and you did promise you wouldn't back out. What kind of legislacerator doesn't keep her promises?" He smiled as her face fell. Now he knew he had convinced her.

"Dammit, Karkat! No fair!" she moaned and crossed her arms. "Fine! I'll go to the stupid human school! It's not nice to pressure the blind girl, asshole..."

"I know," he grinned at her pout.

"Wonderful!" the sweaty, nervous man behind the desk clapped his hands together, but his sight smile disappeared when Terezi shot a deathly glare in his general direction. "If you'll just come with me, you can use the staff restroom to apply some makeup, and we have hats for you, too. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about your teeth, though."

"Is there something _wrong_ with our teeth?" Terezi growled.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean that at all, of course not!" the man shook as he answered the girl's question. If he ever had to deal with the Trolls again, then he would definitely quit this lousy school job.

"Good."

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**I hope you liked it! I know it's kind of short. I'm planning on adding more, but I'll only share if I get some reviews! If you liked it, please tell me and I'll get to work right away! Well, maybe not right away, I have NERD BATTLE looming over my head. But I'll work hard on it as soon as I find the time, don't you worry.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Short chapter, but I figured a Christmas update was in order. Only one review, but that's okay! Follows and favorites are great, too! Thanks to everyone who read it, I hope this chapter is better than the last. I feel like pissing somebody off, so inspiration for Terezi's bad attitude comes from my best friend's dislike of gray face paint. Have you ever seen an Eridan cosplayer shove her head in somebody's lawn fountain? The owners of the lawn were not too pleased to find purple hair dye in their decorations.**

**I do not own any characters used, obviously. Enjoy!**

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Terezi grimaced as she pulled her red-tinted glasses from the bridge of her nose and placed them down on the cheap tiles surrounding the sink in the staff bathroom. Sollux slipped a compact of pale peach face paint into her hand, and she flipped off the lid, bringing it to her face. She took a deep breath and gagged.

"This smells _terrible,_" she huffed. "How am I supposed to wear this garbage _all day?"_

"Just fucking get over yourself, Terezi," Karkat growled. "We all have to wear this shit."

The female troll took a sniff of the air and grimaced. It was filled with the smell of the peachy human skin color. Groaning loudly to express her discomfort, she squished a makeup sponge into the compact in her hand and smeared it down her face. A few more smears later and she could feel her companion's eyes on her.

"What?!" she demanded.

"You're never going to finish if you keep trying like _that_," Sollux chuckled and took the makeup and sponge from her fingers. He painted the substance evenly around her face and neck, then her hands and lower arms. Luckily, it was winter, and they were all wearing sweatshirts and long pants. "Okay, done," came the lisp.

"I don't even want to know how stupid I look right now."

"Oh, trust me, the makeup didn't make it any worse," Karkat retorted with an audible smirk. Sollux just sighed and pushed her glasses back onto her nose, then pressed a baseball cap firmly down onto her head.

"We _all_ look ridiculous, Terezi. Don't worry." Sollux. Terezi just frowned and pulled her hood up and over the hat. The holes where her horns were supposed to poke through just looked awkward now, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to go around with some hat that probably said something that people would laugh at. She would much rather be laughed at for her dragon hood then somebody else's bad fashion taste.

As they all left the staff bathroom in the office, Sollux leading Terezi by her wrist and Karkat cursing under his breath, somebody waiting in a chair in the main office watched them pass.

"Hey. Sweet hood," he called as Terezi passed. She turned to the sound of his voice.

"Mine?"

"Yeah. Dragons are sweet."

"Thanks."

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**Hope you enjoyed that. Reviews are like energy drinks, they'll make me work harder and stay up later to finish things for you! If you read and like my stories, please please please just say so! Reviews are my favorite Christmas presents! Happy Holidays, enjoy your break if you're on one. Try to guess who was waiting in the office!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I had this sudden urge at two in the morning to finish this chapter. Ah, the wonders of Winter Break. Can't sleep? May as well waste your time hypnotically pushing buttons. Whee.**

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"Who was that douchebag?" Karkat hissed as soon as the three of them had left the office.

"I don't know," Terezi shrugged, twisting her neck backwards, even though she couldn't see.

"Who the fuck wears sunglasses _indoors_?"

"He was wearing sunglasses?"

"He was," Sollux interrupted their argument that was gaining volume with every sentence. Karkat grumbled something incoherent under his breath and crossed his arms over his sweatered chest. "Anyways, let's go to class."

They each had a schedule printed on a piece of paper, and Karkat angrily tore his from his back pants pocket. Terezi plucked hers from her sweatshirt pocket, and Sollux already had his out. The three paused in front of a display case in the entryway, stopping to compare their classes like friends always do on their first day at a new school. Terezi gave a nearly invisible smile, her lips twisting upwards ever-so-slightly when she realized she had at least one of her fellows with her in each class, presumably to guide her around, what with her lack of sight.

The two boys weren't as lucky. All three shared only one class, near the end of the day, and that meant that, since one was always with Terezi, Sollux and Karkat both had classes with only humans. In some hidden part of her, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them, she knew what alone felt like.

Not wanting to be even later than they already were, Sollux and Terezi wandered in the direction of their shared class, while Karkat stomped in the opposite direction, towards his. The yellow and teal bloods found their classroom quite easily, placards labeled doors very clearly. Behind the thick wooden slab with windows waited a large, bored group of human teenagers that had heard new students were to join them. A bit of chatter hopped from mouth to mouth, usual things about what they expected the new kids to be like. A boy claimed he had already seen them, and the gossip-addicted crowded around him to hear.

Sick of waiting all morning, as soon as Terezi had been guided to the door, she shoved it open with her hip and stormed inside, Sollux right behind her. The noise from the students quieted only slightly as the teacher pulled himself from his padded chair in the corner and waddled over to the front of the classroom.

"Class, quiet," nobody paid the rotund, balding man any attention. "Quiet!" he said, just a bit louder. Again, no affect. "I said quiet, you noisy little good-for-nothing wastes-of-space!" much louder, and most of the class paused to look at the front of the room.

"That's better," the middle-aged man grumbled, surveying the group with squinted eyes. "These are our new students," he looked to Terezi and Sollux. "Care to introduce yourself?"

"Hey, why do they get to wear hats indoors, Mr. Brown?" one student shouted, obviously annoyed. A baseball cap hung through the belt loop on his sagging, faded blue jeans.

"Good question... Why _do_ you-," the teacher stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering that email he had just read. "Oh. Nevermind. They have special permission," he now seemed much more alert as Sollux stared at him, sharp teeth hanging over his lips. Sweat dripped down his double chins as he stared back.

"What about those dumb glasses?" the kid kept asking questions, seemingly determined to get the two new students into trouble. Terezi bared her teeth.

"I'm _blind, _you INSENSITIVE DOUCHEBAG," she cried in her best "poor little disabled girl" voice. She would have loved to fake cry, but teal tears might seem just a bit odd. The boy fell silent.

"What about him, is he blind, too?" another boy seemed convinced that it was his job to continue the teasing. The teacher didn't interfere, just kept his eyes on both of the Trolls.

"Rare... Eye condition," Sollux mumbled, trying his best to hide his obvious lisp.

"What's it called?"

"Heterochromia?" Sollux took a wild guess that most of these kids were too stupid to know that heterochromia was just having different eye colors. He pushed his red and blue lenses further up on his nose as no one questioned him.

"Could you two please hurry and introduce yourselves so we can get on with class?" the teacher asked quietly.

"I'm Terezi Pyrope," Terezi obliged in a dull tone.

"I'm Sollux Captor," Sollux said in an equally flat voice.

"Wonderful. Please go ahead and take the empty desks in the back of the room." Sollux lead Terezi to the desks by her wrist and they both dropped into hard chairs. They could both feel the twenty-eight other pairs of eyes in the room turn to stare at them.

At the front of the room, the door opened again. Everyone turned to this new distraction. A blonde boy wearing dark sunglasses walked in holding a slip of paper, which he promptly dropped onto the teacher's desk.

"David, please find your seat," the man behind the desk said without looking up from his computer. A few girls giggled as he passed through the aisle, watching his black jeans closely before they disappeared into the chair next to Terezi.

"So, Dave, what'd you get in trouble for this time?" it was the irritating boy that had first questioned the hats and glasses that the new students wore. He leaned over the back if his chair to look at the blonde.

"Somebody called John gay again. I mean, he's obviously a _flaming_ homosexual, but only I'm allowed to say it," he smiled without opening his mouth and leaned back in his chair. _Homosexual?_ Terezi had never heard the word, but dared not ask. Something about this _Dave _seemed oddly familiar, though.

"Hey, weren't you the dragon chick from the office?" That was it.

"Yep," Terezi nodded and plunged her hands into her red pockets. She could smell something red on Dave, too. She liked it.

"Cool. Where'd you get that thing?"

"It's old. I can't remember," she replied simply. She kind of doubted that mentioning it came from her home planet would be wise.

"Too bad..." Dave looked away from her as the teacher flicked on the projector. Terezi drowned out his lesson easily, there were plenty of more interesting things in the classroom, like the whispers being passed.

_Those new kids are a bunch of weirdos, aren't they?_

_I bet that 3-D prick is a total loser._

_Why do they have special permission to wear hats? Are they hiding something?_

Terezi drowned them out, too. Gog, humans were mindless idiots.

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**Welp, maybe I'll get a few new reviews? Please? Pretty please? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to my one overly excited reviewer, ironicdancing! You are epic. Seriously. Thank you so much, I love your reviews. I hope you and anyone else who actually reads this enjoys this chapter! I'm going to update as much on this as I possibly can in the next week or so before school starts again. Sorry for any mistakesI didn't catch, I write best late at night when the only way availible is a tiny little phone screen. Plus, I'm usually too lazy to read through more than once. Read! Review!**

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After a ridiculously longand overly-boring lesson on the proper use of commas in a sentence, the teacher flicked off the projector and the image on the whiteboard disappeared. Most of the kids sighed happily and resumed their conversations from earlier in the morning without skipping a beat. Throughout the time they had all pretended to listen, Terezi had flashed in and out of her mind, first listening to the whispers, then ignoring them, finally ending up just trying to drown out the scent of the bodies in the enclosed room, the sour smell of teenager. Bodily odor and unbrushed teeth left a dry taste in the back of her throat, though she decided against asking Sollux to take her to the water fountain. He seemed to be enjoying the teacher's ramble, peering over his multicolored glasses to watch him move about before them.

As soon as the teacher dismissed the class, students furiously shoved papers and pencils into binders, trampling each other like mad beasts to be the first to reach the door. Terezi hadn't brought anything but a pencil, and neither had Sollux, so they just stood calmly and began winding through the messy rows of tables and chairs scattered throughout the room. Most of the other students had already left, but Terezi could still hear scuffling behind them.

"You two, wait up," a smooth voice called in no hurry, light footsteps following. The teal blood stopped, and so did the yellow. The footsteps caught up to them. "Your glasses are pretty neat, too," somebody nudged Terezi's arm, and she realized that the voice belonged to that Dave boy.

"Thanks. I'm surprised you didn't ask about them earlier, some asshole made a whole show of it in front of the class," she chuckled, recalling how the mood had changed so suddenly with one announcement. The group of three had now reached the classroom door, and somebody pushed it open.

"Nah, as long as you don't ask about mine, it's cool," she had forgotten that Karkat mentioned he was wearing shades. "So you guys are new here, right?"

"Yeah," Sollux piped up. He had been uncharacteristically quiet all day, for some reason.

"You like it so far?"

"It's... Okay," the Gemini shrugged.

"Anything like your old school?"

"We were, uh, homeschooled," Terezi slipped into the conversation.

"Is that so?" Dave seemed curious, and both Trolls were grateful when Karkat approached them angrily.

"Hey, KK. How was your first class?" Sollux asked, changing the subject.

"Fucking terrible. Those shit-for-brains nooksuckers thought my sweater said sixty-nine! The fuck does that even mean?!" the mutant grumbled. He glanced to Dave, then Terezi. "Now do you know who this douchebag is?"

"I'm Dave," he offered a hand, "And, last I checked, I wasn't that much of a douchebag."

"I'm Karkat," he pushed Dave's hand away.

"Hello to you too, Karkat," he raised an eyebrow and turned back to Terezi. "See you later... What was your name again?"

"Terezi," she flicked her glasses further up on her nose.

"Cool. I'll see you later then, dragon chick," with a wave of his hand, he disappeared down the hallway still crowded with a sea of adolescents.

"I have to go, too, TZ," Sollux said, looking up from his schedule.

"Well, look at that, Terezi. Seems I'll be escorting you to your next class," Terezi could hear the grin in Karkat's voice as he forcefully hooked his arm through hers. "Oh, wait, you can't look, can you?"

"Shut up, mutant," she sneered as he began to drag her to their next period. She could feel him tense at the hemophobic remark. No reply came.

Two awful classes with Karkat, one with Sollux, and one lunch period later, it was the second-to-last class of the day. All three Trolls walked in one by one, and, since not everyone had returned from their lockers and conversations in the hallway, went to speak with the teacher. She smiled and shook their hands, not even caring about the makeup that rubbed off in her palm, being much more excited about her interesting new pupils. It was obvious that she wanted to speak to them all in more detail and to learn a bit more about them, but it was nearly time for the class to begin, so she pointed out empty seats around the room and told them which she wanted them to take. All the chairs around the room were set up around black tables in sets of four. Terezi was ushered to one near the teacher's desk, and Karkat and Sollux were seated across from each other at a table near the other end of the room.

As the teacher began to erase the lessons on the board from the previous class, the last few stragglers wandered into the room. Terezi could feel somebody sit in the chair next to her.

"Sup, Terezi?"

"Hello, Dave," she knew she recognized that small twinge of red in the air, "Are you wearing red, Dave?"

"Not at the moment, can't you tell?" he looked down at his blank t-shirt, "Oh, wait, are you...?"

"Blind. Yes. Don't worry about it," now she was curious, where could he be hiding the sweet smell of cherries?

"Okay. Sorry about that. Why do you ask?"

"I like red. I can smell it somewhere on you," she turned to the direction of his voice and took a deep breath.

"Smell it?"

"Yes. You know how when you lose use of one sense, others improve? I can smell and taste colors. They're wonderful," before they left for school, she had made sure she knew how to explain her odd habits.

"Oh, that's just awesome," he seemed interested. "What does red smell like?"

"Cherry popsicles. It's a marvelous flavor, as well," she explained with a pleased smile. Nobody ever asked her things like that.

"What about yellow?"

"Nasty, crusty mustard."

"Brown?"

"Chocolate."

"Orange?"

"Creamsicles."

"That seems like a really interesting way to experience stuff... You'll have to tell me more sometime," Dave said as the teacher at the front of the room finished erasing marker and began to speak.

"Well, class, it looks like we have some new students! I hope you all take time later to introduce yourself, but for now, why don't you three stand up and tell us a little about yourselves? Mr. Vantas, you can go first," Terezi could hear a chair being shoved aside at the front of the room, and then Karkat's gruff, annoyed voice.

"I am Karkat Vantas. Do not talk to me," the chair was pulled back in, and Karkat sat.

"Mr. Captor?" another chair, then Sollux's lisp.

"I'm Sollux," he sat down without another word.

"And Miss Pyrope?" Terezi stood.

"I'm Terezi, and I'm blind. Be sure that I don't trip over you," she sat and could hear Dave stifle a chuckle next to her.

"Lovely, thank you. Now, can I get a volunteer to pass out worksheets?" Somebody must have raised their hand, because a thin stack of papers were slid onto Terezi's table a moment later. Once everyone had one, the teacher spoke again, "Please read over the sheet with your desk partner and head over into the lab area when you've studied the directions."

"Mrs. Harisson, though, my partner isn't here!" a boy's voice came from the front of the room where Sollux and Karkat were.

"Go ahead and work with Karkat and Sollux then, John."

"Wasn't he the guy you called a 'flaming homosexual' or something earlier?" Terezi asked Dave quietly.

"Yeah, he's my best bud. He's pretty dorky, but I think you'll like him. Anyway, should I read the directions for you?"

"Yes, please," the blonde went through the instructions at her request. The lab was something about playing around with pH, and it involved cabbage juice. Terezi was not happy, as the magenta substance smelled like old socks. They walked over to the lab area together, and Dave guided her to their station after picking up their supplies from the table. He busied himself setting up the station while she gagged over the awful odor eminating from the paper cup with the juice.

"Terezi, I have an idea. This experiment has a lot to do with colors, y'know. I'll measure out everything and mix it, then you can match them to the color card. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," she was happy that she wouldn't be completely useless.

"Perfect," she could hear him pouring cabbage juice into test tubes and then adding the liquids they were supposed to test. The was a bright orange cup of dish soap that she though smelled pretty nice, but the rest were either clear or white, which she didn't like.

"Terezi, will you fucking move?" she had been leaning against the counter, but was now shoved rather roughly aside by a grumpy Cancer.

"Jegus, Karkat!" she growled as she was sent straight into the corner of the counter, which poked into her stomach. "That hurt, douchefuck!"

"Be nice, Karkat!" this time it was the voice from the boy named John.

"Damn it, KK..." Sollux sighed.

"John, I don't fucking do nice. Nice is for wigglers. Nice is for the weak." Karkat said through his teeth.

"Geez, calm down!" John protested his attitude, trying to back up and give him room.

"Can we just go?" the black-sweatered Troll grabbed John by his blue t-shirt and dragged him to their station, Sollux walking not far behind.

"And he called me a douche!" Dave scoffed and turned back to the liquids as Terezi giggled.

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**By the way, every teacher that appears in here I have actually had myself, only a few slight details changed. Since I've never gone into a normal public highschool, I'm trying to base the school off my middle school, where both teachers used taught. Just a fun fact, I guess. I think a few(one) of the relationships I'm hinting at is pretty obvious, or at leadt I hope it is... REVIEW. PLEASE.**


	5. Chapter 5

**OH MY GOD YOU LUCKY LITTLE SHITS. IT IS THREE IN THE FUCKING MORNING AND I WILL BE MURDERING SOMEONE TOMORROW MORNING. FUCK. ENJOY YOUR FUCKING WORDS. GODDAMMIT. IM GOING TO GO SLEEP.**

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Sollux and Terezi walked into their first class with very different mindsets and attitudes. Terezi was refreshed and eager to see Dave again, having gotten to know him just a bit better the day before. As promised, he had mixed, and she had been very happily surprised to find that the cabbage juice had changed color and scent to a very lovely transparent blue with little marble swirls of opaque, milky midnight. The other colors were also pleasant, most bright and clear. One was a bit limeish, another like mango. She had decided that, not only did she like the colors, but the class as well.

On the other hand, Sollux was stressed and worn out. In class, he had been the unlucky spectator for Karkat and John's hour-long bicker session, then was relieved for only another hour before Karkat holed him up in his room and spent the rest of the night complaining about the slightly dorky boy he absolutely despised, but not in that way, he assured the Gemini after being asked if he was caliginous for him.

They both dropped into their seats next to each other, and Sollux nearly fell asleep on his cold, sticky slab of papered wood. Terezi scanned the area around the door for Dave by smelling the air. Yesterday, she hadn't been able to find out what was making the sweet red smell that swirled around him, but she was determined to choke it out of him today.

Finally, the familiar concoction of platinum blonde, freckles, and that tinge of cherry was in the room. Dave took his seat and turned to the girl next to him, the one with the pointed red FLARP costume glasses and bright dragon hoodie.

"Hello, Dave," she smiled with her pointed teeth and pulled her hands from her pockets to drape them over her chair.

"Hey, Terezi," he smiled back and straightened his shades. Sollux could see him from Terezi's left and rolled his eyes.

"Humans..." he grumbled under his breath.

The flourescent lighting flickered as the teacher played with the switch.

"Listen up, kids. We're going to be starting a pretty big project, and if you don't want to confirm your parents' fears of you being a useless idiot by failing, you better pay attention," he tossed a packet of papers onto the projector table so that they were under the camera. "I'll go over the assignment once, so no talking!"

The assignment seemed fairly simple, they were to work with a partner to prepare a short story that contained two major themes, one partner picked one and the other another. They had until Wednesday of the next week, which was a bit invonvenient, since it was already Thursday and pairs would have to meet over the weekend.

As soon as the explantion was finished, Dave turned back to Terezi.

"Do you want to be my partner?" he asked quickly before Sollux had the chance.

"I don't see why not," she shrugged.

"But TZ...!" Sollux protested. Now his day had just gotten a lot worse.

"Hey, 3-D, you can work with me," the girl directly in front of Sollux offered, turning around and smiling. He looked from Terezi to her, then sighed and gave in.

"Fine..."

"Great. I'm Rose."

"Thanks for helping him out, Rose," Dave called over to her, and she nodded without taking her eyes off of Sollux.

Today, Terezi had brought a little more than a pencil. She flipped open a spiral notebook, then blew past pages upon pages of doodles she had done the night before with a thick red marker that smelled like chemicals and gave her a slight headache. When she finally found a plain white page that smelled like marshmallows, she pulled out a different pen, a teal ballpoint one.

"What theme do you want?" she asked, clicking the top of the pen. "Because I want there to be justice. Lots of it." she pressed her pen to the thin page and wrote 'JUST1C3' in bold letters.

"I don't really know what to pick," Dave said without looking at the page. "Maybe... Irony?" now he looked at the page as she wrote down '1RONY'. "You have nice handwriting for someone who can't see... What's with the leetspeak though?"

"You mean the numbers?" she asked, picking her pen up.

"Yeah."

"Some numbers are important to me. Four, one, and three are the numbers of the Blind Prophets, so I include them in my writing, though I usually type."

"Oh, okay. I'll type the final draft, then," Dave chuckled.

"Alright. Who should our characters be?"

"How about... Dragons?" the blonde nudged her dragon hood and she nodded.

"Perfect. Dragons are awesome."

"Yep."

"Now, a setting..."

"Maybe another planet? Like, really far away. In another universe or something like that," Terezi almost laughed out loud at his absolutely divine suggestion.

"I can definitely work with something like that." she sighed and remembered her home. "A dangerous place, not all that large, tucked away. The sun is pure light and deathly heat, most inhabitants refuse to go out into the daylight for fear of losing their sight or burning to a crisp. There's this one forest, with huge, bushy trees and lots of vegetation, though, and right smack dab in the center thete's one huge tree that's just perfect for a treehouse. Dragons hang from all the branches, sentenced to death for varying crimes that all lead to a public hanging..." she said the details almost in a trance, suddenly suffering from a terrible pang of homesickness.

"That's certainly a vivid image. Have you been there yourself?"

"Maybe..." she smiled.

"Well, since you seem to have a pretty good idea of what'll happen, maybe we could just talk for a while?" Dave asked, slipping his fingers under the cover of the notebook and folding it closed.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to get to know you a little better, Terezi. All I know now is that you like dragons, justice, and the color red. You seem kind of different from everyone around here, and I like it."

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**THESE WORDS ARE MADE OF MY TEARS. FUCKING REVIEW. PLEASE. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HALF OF A CHAPTER OH MY FUCKING GOD.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Couldn't think of how to start for the longest time. I think I made Terezi seem a bit over-emotional, wow. I was going to include a lot more in this, actually, but I like to limit chapters to just over a thousand words so that I don't run out of subject for the next. I'll get to work on the 7th really soon. **

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"Different in what way?" Terezi asked softly, slight concern sparking in her voice. She gripped the rubber of her pen just a little tighter as sweat ran down the back of her neck, hoping dearly that the liquid stained with teal did not seep through her jacket, because that would be hard to explain.

"I'm not completely sure..." Dave wasn't even looking at her, but Sollux had heard the remark and was staring intently at both of them, "I guess I just haven't really met anyone like you before."

"That isn't exactly surprising, Dave. I'm blind and I can taste color," she cackled nervously, hoping that it resolved his curiosity, "Have you met anyone who can do that before?"

"No, but I don't think that's it," he frowned, furrowing his eyebrows as he rested his chin on his hand in concentration, "It seems like you're not even human sometimes..." Terezi could feel her breath catch in her throat.

"I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be back in a little while. Sollux, could you-" he was already standing to guide her out of the room.

"I'll take you, if you want," Rose offered.

"No, Sollux is fine, thank you," they were already winding their way out of the maze of desks and partners seated on the floor. As soon as the classroom was behind them, Terezi let out a relieved gasp. They kept walking towards the restrooms, and Sollux helped Terezi into the girl's side before he left for the other.

Even though she obviously couldn't see her reflection, Terezi leaned over a makeup smeared sink and stared at the slightly cracked, smudgy, dirty mirror stretching on the wall above it. She felt on the wall for the paper towel dispenser and tugged a few rough brown pieces from it, dabbing the sweat on her neck and hands. _What did I do to give myself away?_ she thought angrily. She knew she and both of her friends would have to leave this school if they were found out, the nervous principal man had explained this when they came to the office the afternoon of their first day so that he could hand them the little compacts of makeup to put on before they reached school. They couldn't tell anybody what they were or where they came from because they might get scared and report them, which could mean trouble for the school as well as them. _I shouldn't have talked about Alternia. I shouldn't have told him about the colors. _

Although she hated to admit it, Terezi liked going to school and being able to interact with so many people, even if they _were_ humans. She especially liked talking with Dave, and she refused to leave before finding out what that red glimmer was. The thought of leaving nearly brought tears to her eyes, and she gritted her teeth. She hadn't felt normal since she had lost her sight all those sweeps ago, but being surrounded by so many people who were all different in their own ways just made her feel special instead of like an outcast as she had expected.

It had been an off, lonely day when Karkat shoved open the door to her small room in the house all twelve of them shared. All day, she had been curled up on the springy box in the corner that humans called a bed, whining about how she missed her tree and her chalk and all the scalemates she hadn't been able to bring(she fondly remembered Duke Pinesnort with a slight tear. Even if she had hanged him for his misdeeds, that didn't mean she couldn't remember him fondly). When Karkat had come in and asked her if she would be willing to go to a human school with him and Sollux, she had jumped at the opportunity to leave the cramped cage of a room and converse with live people besides those in the house.

Now, looking back on her decision, she thought that it might not be as great as she thought. If her honor would permit it, she might just quit now. She could fake her own death just to get out of school. Of course, her honor _wouldn't_ permit that, so she was stuck here with a horrible developing flush-crush for a _human_, of all creatures. It was despicable.

Escaping from her thoughts, she remembered the damp teal and peach towels clutched in her fingers and tossed them angrily at the floor. All the pressure she had clutched them with had rubbed most of the makeup off of her palms, and she brought them up to her face for a sniff, then a lick of gray. She had almost forgotten what color her own skin was.

"Terezi, are you almost done in there?" Sollux's familiar lisp called her out of the silent restroom. She could hear him chuckle and take her back in. "I don't think that showing up with gray all over you would help your case with him. Forget what that ass thinks." she was silent as she slipped her makeup from her jeans pocket and handed it to him.

* * *

A few hours later in the day, after having her makeup reapplied and brushing off the rest of Dave's comments and questions, it was lunch period. The Trolls unanimously considered the school's offered nourishment absolutely atrocious, and would not eat it. On their first day, they had sat silently at a table in the corner of the massive commons area where nobody, save for a few of the overly social, interrupted them. Today, though, their table sat three new bodies. As soon as Karkat, Sollux, and Terezi had dropped onto the benches attached to the gray slab, John, Rose, and Dave had joined them. Terezi faintly recalled Dave saying something about having lunch with them("Just don't sit next to that Karkat fucker,"), but she hadn't been listening all that closely. Sollux and Karkat both seemed very unhappy to be forced to talk to Rose and John, but Terezi couldn't tell whether or not she really wanted to speak with Dave or not.

"Terezi, hey, Terezi?" Dave shook her shoulder, "Are you alright? You seem a bit spaced out."

"I'm fine," she mumbled, "What were you saying?"

"Well, two things. One, I was asking if you'd like to come over to my house this weekend to work on our project. Two, I brought something for you," a soft sliding sound was heard as Dave slipped a Tupperware container in front of her and pried off the lid.

"Oh my Gog. What's red?!" she cried, forgetting her previous concerns and taking a deep whiff. She shoved her fingers into the container and brought something smooth and round to her lips.

"Cherries, Terezi. They're cherries," Dave chuckled. "What about number one?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Yeah. Sure," she nodded as she shoved one of the fruits into her mouth and felt it pop between her razor sharp incisors. She almost squealed as the sweet, yet tart, juice stung her tongue lightly.

"Wait, Terezi! Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sollux protested her decision from between Dave and Rose.

"Yes. A very good one. Now let me eat the cherries!"

"Cool. Do you have Pesterchum?" Dave asked.

"Something like it... Give me your handle and I'll find you when I get home," she said around a dripping mouthful of red cherries. Karkat cringed as he watched and Dave scribbled something down on a scrap of paper and slipped it into Terezi's pocket.

* * *

**Okay, hope you liked that! It kind of cuts off at a bad place, but I didn't want to start with a new pairing at the end of a chapter. Happy New Year, everyone! Keep reading and reviewing, I'm planning on adding a few big events really soon, so if you're bored with it, JUST YOU WAIT! Or review! Waiting or reviewing both work, reviewing is preferred! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Damn guys, I'm really sorry it took me so long to write this chapter! I don't know what happened, I just couldn't work on this for a few days. Since I feel really bad and hate guilt, I've decided to add a little something special. **

**tinyurl dot com /omglookwhatyougetasabonus**

**I drew this a while ago, though I never could finish Dave's hands, so I never got around to posting it on my dA or anything. It kind of fits, I think, so enjoy both the picture and the chapter! If the pesterchum conversations seem kind of strange, I'm sorry, I'm bad at those. Also, I can't remember if I based the format for the conversations on the comic or the actual Trollian program I have. Also, thanks to my awesome matesprit who I hope reads this/ Anyway, read!**

* * *

-gallowsCallibrator[GC] began trolling turntechGodhead[TG]-

GC: H3LLO D4V3

TG: hey terezi

TG: so do you wanna come over on saturday

TG: to yknow discuss our project

GC: W1LL TH3R3 B3 MOR3 CH3RR13S :?

TG: sure

GC: Y3S :]

TG: cool so should i pick you up or do you want my address

GC: 1 DOUBT SOLLUX OR K4RK4T WOULD L1K3 TO BR1NG M3 TH3R3 4ND B4CK

GC: PL34S3 P1CK M3 UP

TG: alright

TG: also there was one other thing i wanted to ask you

GC: 4SK 4W4Y

TG: could i have your friends handles too

TG: for john and rose

GC: SUR3, K4RK4T 1S C4RC1NOG3N3T1C1ST 4ND SOLLUX 1S TW1N4RM4G3DDONS

TG: cool thanks see you saturday

GC: GOODBY3

-gallowsCallibrator[GC] ceased trolling turntechGodhead[TG]-

-ectoBiologist[EB] began pestering carcinoGeneticist[CG]-

EB: hi Karkat!

CG: WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?

EB: it's John, from school.

CG: HOW THE FUCKING HELL DID YOU GET MY HANDLE?

EB: Dave gave it to me! :B

CG: HOW DID HE GET IT?

EB: i dunno. i just asked if he knew and he did.

CG: TELL HIM HE IS A SACK OF SHIT AND THAT HE SHOULDN'T GIVE OTHER PEOPLES' HANDLES OUT, IT'S FUCKING RUDE.

EB: i'll pass the message on later.

CG: WHY DID YOU WANT TO TALK TO ME?

EB: i guess you just kind of intrigue me. how's it possible that you stay angry all the time?

CG: IT'S JUST MY FUCKING TALENT, I GUESS.

EB: i'm sure you've got other talents, don't you?

CG: NO, BULGE MUNCHER, OBVIOUSLY NOT. THE ONLY THING I CAN DO IS BE ANGRY.

EB: aw, i'm sure that's not true!

CG: IT WAS SARCASM, YOU DUMB FUCK.

EB: well that wasn't very nice.

CG: NO SHIT, SHERLOCK.

EB: jeez Karkat. calm down.

CG: I AM CALM. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I AM NOT CALM?

EB: how you're typing in all caps?

CG: I ALWAYS TYPE LIKE THIS.

EB: why?

CG: NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS. NOW, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IMPORTANT TO SAY, I'LL BE LEAVING.

EB: no, wait!

EB: i just wanted to get to know you kind of better.

CG: WHY?

EB: i want to be your friend.

CG: AGAIN, WHY?

EB: you're just so different! all of you are! and i think i like it a lot.

CG: DIFFERENT? HOW ARE WE DIFFERENT?

EB: that's kind of what i was hoing to find out.

EB: anyway, I have some stuff to do, and you don't really seem like you want to talk, so I'll just go then. okay?

CG: FINALLY.

CG: BUT IF YOU WANT, I GUESS YOU COULD MESSAGE ME LATER OR SOMETHING. YOU AREN'T *THAT* ANNOYING.

EB: great! talk to you later then, i won't forget! :B bye!

-ectoBiologist[EB] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist[CG]-

-tentacleTherapist[TT] began pestering twinArmageddons[TA]-

TT: Hello, Sollux.

TA: who ii2 thii2

TT: Rose. I had Dave ask Terezi for your handle, I hope you don't mind.

TA: iit'2 fiine

TT: We didn't get to talk much about our project in class, do you have a certain theme in

mind?

TA: no do you

TT: I do not, but perhaps we can come up with our themes together?

TA: yeah 2ure what were you thiinkiing

TT: Well, I'm sure both of us will write best if we pick themes that reflect our lives and interests, so are there any themes you can think of that play a part in your everyday life or past?

TA: maybe... dualiity ii2 kiind of iimportant to me ii liike iit a lot

TT: That seems like an interesting theme to work with. Great idea.

TA: thank2 what'2 your iidea

TT: I've always loved the supernatural, do you think we could work that into it?

TA: that 2eem2 pretty ea2y yeah ii'm 2ure we can

TT: Wonderful. Would you like to come to my house this weekend, or should I come to yours?

TA: ii don't thiink briingiing vii2iitor2 here would be a great iidea

TT: Alright, I'm available on Saturday, then. May I ask why you do not like visitors?

TA: lot2 of people liive wiith u2 and ii don't thiink they would take kiindly to 2tranger2

TT: Why would that be?

TA: they don't liike people much

TA: that'2 why they deciided not to go to 2chool wiith u2

TT: Do they take online classes, then?

TA: no why

TT: Well, they are school-aged, aren't they?

TA: ye2

TA: but we kiind of have a 2peciial 2iituatiion

TT: Care to explain it to me?

TA: not partiicularly

TT: Alright. I'll expect you on Saturday, then? I'm afraid I must go now.

TA: yeah 2ure 2ee you then

-tentacleTherapist[TT] ceased pestering twinArmageddons[TA]-

The morning after the three conversations began normally. Sollux and Terezi went to their class with Dave, beginning to fall into a routine. Terezi and Dave wrote together and talked, and Dave reminded her that he was picking her up the next day. The class ended, Terezi went with Karkat. Another class ended, she was still with Karkat. That one ended as well, and she switched the mutant for a yellow blood. After a fourth class, they walked to the commons area and sat with Karkat. Shortly after, they were again joined by Dave, John, and Rose.

"Hey, TZ, want some more cherries?" Dave nudged Terezi's arm and pushed another container of fruit in front of her. She grinned and plunged her fingers into the plastic tub, plucking out a cherry and chomping on it happily.

"Terezi, wipe your fucking mouth," Karkat growled, "You look like you're eating internal organs."

"Maybe I _am_ eating internal organs, Karkat. You never know," she wiped a bit of the juice from her bottom lip.

"Um, Terezi, think you've got something there," Dave poked her chin where she had just wiped.

"Yes, it does appear you have something on your face," Rose commented, staring at her suspiciously. She had accidentally wiped off a smidge of her makeup with the juice, and Karkat and Sollux could not have looked more anxious.

"Let's go wash that off, okay?" Karkat stood and grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her up as well. She nodded and followed him to the bathroom, where he shoved her into the girls' side and, after a quick glance around, followed. "That was way too fucking close, Terezi!" he hissed.

"You don't think I _know_ that?" she bared her sharp teeth and slipped her makeup compact out of her pocket, "Just help me get this shit back on!" Karkat growled under his breath and slapped some more makeup over the spot of gray on her chin.

"Be more careful next time, fucktard," he grumbled as he dragged her out of the bathroom and lead her back towards the table.

"What was that stuff, Terezi?" Dave had a curious tone when they returned.

"I don't know. How should I know?" she replied, her nervousness almost showing in her voice.

"Guess you're right," he shrugged and dropped the subject, turning to his human friends for another conversation.

* * *

**Whoaa, intense, huh? Yeah, no. I suck at that. Something pretty big is about to happen, something I think everyone was secretly(some not so secretly) hoping for. You might be able to guess. Might. Well, I just have to say that the best inspiration to write when you can't find any is to go out and cosplay. My friend and I were Eridan and Kanaya the other day, and I have never been more pumped to toss a teabag in some half-boiled water and sit down to type for half an hour before. Kanaya is like my secret writing weapon. Something about all that white paint makes me love this even more. **

**REVIEW, PLEASE. I LOVE IT SO MUCH, AND NOW THAT SCHOOL IS STARTING AND I HAVE TWENTY(LITERALLY TWENTY) NOVELS TO CRAM INTO ABOUT A MONTH THEY'RE THE ONLY THING THAT WILL KEEP ME GOING. If I get five reviews on this chapter(and my obviously unbeatable PSHH nerd battle team makes it to regionals), then I will cosplay Kanaya to our battles. Last year I was England. I'll do it. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright! Short chapter, sorry guys, but it seemed like a good place to end. No need to fret, though, because I want to see what happens next, too! I was pretty sad when I cut it off here, but chapter nine should be posted by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, in an hour or so at the earliest. Well, maybe not an hour, I have homework to pretend to do. My theater teacher agreed to let me use a speech from homestuck for my final monologue assignment, so I might need to practice. Guess who finally found a good use for her blonde wig!**

**Read and review, as always. Enjoy, my loveliess~**

* * *

-turntechGodhead[TG] began pestering gallowsCallibrator[GC]-

TG: terezi im waiting

TG: do you want to come

down yet

GC: 1M COM1NG. C4LM DOWN.

-turntechGodhead[TG] ceased pestering gallowsCallibrator[GC]-

Pressing her red and white cane against the creaky stairs, Terezi hopped down to the ground floor and out to meet Dave. He was waiting with his hands in his front pockets, tapping his foot to the rhythm playing loudly out of one earbud he was using.

"Let's go," he said as he squeezed her arm, gently leading her in the direction of his apartment. She followed at a brisk pace, struggling to match his longer stride.

Terezi wouldn't admit it to Sollux or Karkat, but she was more nervous than she felt she should be about this visit. If she messed up, if she accidentally revealed something, nobody would be there to cover for her. Their secret would be revealed and it would be her fault, she obviously didn't want that. Then again, Dave did seem like he could be trusted. If he thought it would truly hurt her, she doubted he would tell anybody he thought could be dangerous.

"It's gonna be a long walk, sorry," he snapped her from her worries.

"That's okay," she replied, "Walking isn't a bad thing."

"Nope," Dave agreed, glancing around at their surroundings. The streets and sidewalks seemed to be oddly devoid of cars and people at the time. "Hey, Terezi, what was it like to be homeschooled?"

"Well, I guess it was pretty great, for me at least. You might not like it as much," she shrugged, remembering learning of how to smell and taste colors when she had lost her sight.

"Why not?"

"It gets kind of lonely. I could talk to my friends online, but you seem like you need more physical contact than I do."

"Yeah, you're right. I probably wouldn't like homeschooling so much. What did you learn about? Were your parents teachers or something?"

"My teacher was more of a guardian than a parent. We weren't related, really, unless you count spiritually. She taught me how to get over going blind and how to use my other senses to live and experience."

"That seems pretty cool..." they both went silent for a few minutes of walking, neither seeing a need for words. Uncomfortable with the lack of noise, though, Dave hurriedly came up with a new conversational topic, "How... How did you lose your sight, anyway? If you don't mind telling me, I mean."

"I don't. It's kind of an interesting story..." _One I might have to edit a bit_, she added in her head, "Do you want to hear it?"

"Absolutely. We've probably got plenty of time."

"Alright. So, a long time ago, a few of my friends and I used to play this... Game? We were roleplayers, we split up onto teams. I was on Team Scourge, with my friend Vriska. The other team was Charge, my friends Aradia and Tavros. The game was pretty dangerous, but it was rewarding and fun as hell. You might have liked it, but I don't play anymore," she paused a moment for a reply, but none came, so she continued, "One night, we were all set to play, it seemed like it was going to be a pretty fun night. Vriska was the Clouder, she controlled the game for Team Charge. While Aradia and I were distracted talking to some guy who had messaged us both, she backed Tavros up to the edge of a cliff with insanely overpowered enemies. He tried to surrender, to quit the game. But she didn't really like that," Terezi paused again for a dramatic effect.

"What'd she do?" Dave demanded, obviously enthralled.

"She sort of pushed him off, in a way. He didn't die, luckily, but his legs were paralyzed. Obviously, Aradia and I were both furious and sort of guilty. I quit Team Scourge, and Aradia wanted to get her revenge on my ex-teammate. I told her not to, that Vriska would just hurt her, too. She didn't listen to me, though, she said that the 'spirits' told her to make Vriska pay. She ignored my warning and attempted to exact her revenge."

"What did _she_ do?" Dave asked eagerly.

"It's a secret I shouldn't tell you. Whatever it was, though, it made Vriska furious. She kind of... Killed Aradia. It was really horrible, she manipulated Sollux into doing something awful that ended up blowing her up and decimating her entire house. Sollux still feels terrible, he had no idea what he was doing, and I'm pretty sure he and Aradia had something romantic going on, too," Terezi sighed, remembering the deaths and injuries of her friends was never fun.

"What does this have to do with you going blind, though?" Dave grabbed her wrist to lead her across the road, they had walked into a busier part of town.

"I'm getting to that soon, be patient!"

"Sorry."

"Of course, since Vriska had done such despicable things to our friends, it was my turn to punish her. I have to say, I was a lot more crafty about it than Aradia. Vriska has this obsession with luck and fortune telling and things like that, so she had lots of magic 8 balls and one magic cue ball that she wasn't really supposed to use. I threatened her, and she tried to use the cue ball to gauge how serious I was. Then, I told the owner of the cue ball that she was using it to cheat, and he got so mad. He blew it up in her face, and she lost her arm. Now, of course, Vriska was mad at me. She's got a kind of got a psychic thing going on, and she somehow manipulated my custodian to convince me to walk outside in the middle of the day."

"How does walking outside make you blind?" Dave interrupted.

"Shoosh! Where I used to live, the sun was so bright and hot that staring at it, even for only a few moments, could damage your eyes forever. I looked right up into it, and _boom_. No more eyes. Wanna see?" she tipped down her glasses to reveal her bright red scorched corneas.

"Damn, that's a crazy cool story! Long, though. We're here," Terezi could hear a door being unlocked. "Get ready for some stairs, TZ."

* * *

**I hope I didn't butcher that story too badly. I also hope you enjoyed the chapter, of course.**

**Hey! Do you see that! OMG, look! Right down there! Under these words. A white box you can type in! You should type what you thought of this. It's really easy!**


	9. Chapter 9

**There, that wasn't too long, was it? Read away!**

* * *

"Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"Why the fuck do you live on the top floor?" Terezi panted, gasping for breath as her partner pulled her up the last few steps with a mighty tug. Overdramatically, of course, she collapsed onto the landing and groaned as though she were dying.

"Oh, get up. It's not that bad."

"Dave, that is the most stairs I have ever climbed in my entire life."

"Stop whining, my apartment is just down the hallway. You can have some water or something," the blonde chuckled and hooked his fingers into hers, pulling her up to her feet.

"Cherries?"

"Yeah, you can have cherries. We've got a bunch of them."

"Fuck yes!" she was suddenly completely re-energized, and Dave lead her down the hallway. He poked a key into the lock and pushed the door open.

"It's kind of lucky for me that you're blind, I don't have to clean up because you can't see how disgusting it is in here," Dave grinned as he kicked the door shut behind them.

"Wow, that's super respectful. Thanks," Terezi giggled sarcastically, leaning on her cane.

"You can probably smell it though, can't you?"

"Oh, absolutely. It's like unwashed laundry and sweat and an undeniable overtone of male in here. Filthy, but there are lots of colors. I like that," she sniffed around to come up with a suitably degrading description. Dave laughed under his breath.

"Those colors are definitely not things you want to sniff or lick," he informed her, nudging aside a stray smuppet on the floor with his foot.

"Okay. Where are the cherries?"

"I'll get 'em, be patient. Stay here," he wandered into the kitchen to grab the bowl of cold fruits from the fridge, then grabbed a handful for himself before handing the bowl off to Terezi and pulling her to his room. "Did you bring your notebook?"

"Yep! And my pen!" she rifled around in the messenger bag hanging at her hip for a few seconds before triumphantly removing her teal pen.

"Awesome, let's get to work," Dave said as he searched for a writing utensil in his mess of a room. Terezi slipped her bag over her head and dropped it and herself to the carpet, crossing her legs and pulling out her book. Her partner sat next to her, having found a ballpoint pen to write with. He opened the book in her lap and flipped past her red doodles to the page were she had written their themes and outlined their setting. The page after that had the beginning they had written in class, so that was where Dave pressed the point of his pen to the paper.

"Where were we?" Terezi asked, clicking her pen.

"The trial. Senator Lemonsnout just killed Pumpkinsnuffle, I think."

"Oh, that's right! Now he'll drop the bag of embezzled beetles."

"Alright," Dave wrote what he was told, and they continued their project like this for about half an hour, with Dave dropping in ideas every couple of lines and Terezi agreeing wholeheartedly with them. Soon, they had filled a two pages with black text and random notes in teal.

"This project is easy. Does he always assign easy stuff like this?" Terezi asked, on the brink of boredom as she held a cherry between her sharp nails and slipped it past her lips.

"Sometimes it's kind of harder, but usually it's just like this," Dave tried to be as silent as he could, poking his own fingers into the bowl of cherries in hopes of stealing one. His silence was to no avail, though, his hand bumped into Terezi's.

"Hands off the cherries, Dave," she mock-growled.

"Oh, come on! Just one!" he pleaded, pushing her hand back and grabbing one into his fist.

"Fine! One," she permitted his hand to leave with the tart little red fruit.

"Thanks," he tossed it towards his mouth and caught it between his teeth, crushing it and draining the juice.

"Dave?" she asked a few minutes later, a frown in her voice.

"Yeah?" he answered boredly, thinking of snagging another cherry.

"I don't know what you look like," she was obviously quite concerned about this.

"What do you think I look like?"

"I don't know! That's the problem. I can't imagine you like you should be, I can only think about you like someone from where I used to live," she held her head up in her hands, pouting and considering, "I need to know, Dave."

"Do you want me to describe myself or something?" he asked, grabbing a cherry while she was too busy to guard the bowl.

"No, I won't know if you're telling the truth! You could make yourself seem all handsome or something," she smiled slightly.

"Well, you can't get much hotter than this anyway," he chuckled.

"I'm going to feel your face."

"What?"

"Turn this way. Now. This is happening," she held up her hands, suddenly facing towards him instead of forwards.

"You're gonna cut me with your nails or something!" he protested, not really wanting the sharp yellow objects near his face.

"I'll be careful. If you don't want to get hurt, help me find you," Dave sighed at her request that could obviously not be averted and pushed the bowl of cherries out from between them, scooting closer and grabbing her by her wrists. She grinned as he placed her hands on his cheeks. She squeezed them like an annoying relative, "Aw, baby fat!"

"No, come on! Not cool, Terezi! Quit it!" he protested through his teeth, which only made her laugh.

"Fine," she moved downwards, groping along his neck and upper chest.

"I thought you were feeling my face?" he smirked.

"Yeah, I'll get to that..." she mumbled and moved back upwards. When her fingers collided with his shades, she frowned, "Dave, why are you wearing these?"

"It's a habit, though I guess I don't really need to wear them around you," he slipped them off and she could feel him blink in the sudden brightness. The scent of red became much stronger.

"Gasp! Dave! Are your eyes red?" she asked excitedly.

"Damn, you can smell my eyes?" he groaned, "Don't tell anyone!"

"Oh, fine! But that's so cool!" she gushed, reaching one hand to her own face to remove her glasses. "There!"

Slowly, she kept feeling upwards, playing with his hair for a while before stroking the top of his head gently.

"Are you petting me?"

"Maybe."

* * *

**Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading this, you have no idea how good it makes me feel that you like this! A double thank you to those who review, finding those as soon as I check my email is basically my favorite thing. Ever. Keep reviewing, keep reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry, short chapter, but I think you'll enjoy it! Now stop looking at my stupid bold text and read!**

* * *

"Stop petting me," Dave tried to push Terezi's hands away.

"No, your hair is soft!" she resisted, leaning into him to keep her fingers tangled in his blonde locks.

"Too bad! Touchy time is over!" Dave shoved her backwards, a little more gently than he would if she were anybody else. She took back her hands to catch herself before hitting the floor. _Well _that_ could have been disastrous!_ she nearly sighed in relief, thinking of what could have happened if she had fallen and her hood fell off. Horns would be much more difficult to explain than gray skin, that could just be passed off as a skin condition. Then again, it would really only be hard if tried to touch them, if he just looked then she could say they were part of her old FLARP costume or something and she liked to wear them as memories.

"But Dave, I like touchy time!" she frowned and sat back up.

"Maybe some other day. Your fingers are covered in cherry juice right now," he stood up and walked towards the door, "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

"Okay," she heard the door open and shut and was suddenly alone in the room. Cherry juice on her fingers? She must not have been able to feel it through the thick layer of makeup. Terezi lightly dabbed each of her fingers on her tongue, sucking off the juice and pulling her little case of makeup from her pocket. Not wanting to take any chances, she rolled her fingers around in it for a while until she felt they were sufficiently coated.

"Back," the door opened again and Terezi was quick to hide her paint before replying.

"Oh, joy," she stuffed it into her back pocket.

"What was that stuff?"

"What was what stuff?"

"The stuff you just put in your pocket. What was it?" he sat back down next to her.

"None of your business," she glared in the general direction his voice was coming from.

"Was that makeup? You don't seem like the kind of girl to wear makeup, TZ," he was like a bolt of electricity as his hand dove into her pocket and snatched up her concealer, "Jeez, you've used almost all of it!"

"That isn't yours, Dave!" she couldn't tell where he was standing, his presence was no longer seated next to her, "Give it back!"

"Why were you using it?"

"Because I wanted to. Now give it back!"

"I'm pretty sure you don't need it, am I right?"

"Actually, I do need it. I need it for something I can't tell you about," Terezi was getting a little bit nervous, she had no idea how to get more if he kept it.

"You can tell me. Go ahead, and I'll give it right back," she could hear an evil grin in his voice. He liked teasing her about this, obviously. Now all she had to do was come up with a sufficient lie.

"I..." she began without an idea, not wanting to seem like she was thinking about it, but that plan had already backfired, "I need it because..."

"Spit it out."

"I just thought it looked good?"

"Terezi, you're blind," Dave chuckled at her awful attempt.

"Fuck!"

"What could possibly be so important about a tub of makeup?" he peered at it in his palm.

"None of your business, now give it back!"

"Tell me."

"No way!"

"Whatever," he tossed it back into her lap, "You're no fun," Dave sat back down next to her.

"_Thanks_," she stuffed the compact back into her pocket and crossed her arms, still upset.

"Aw, don't be like that," he nudged her arm gently, "Tell me another story like earlier or something. That was cool."

"I don't have any more stories as awesome as that one," she _hmphed_, just a little excited that Dave found her stories interesting.

"Then tell me about something else. Uhh..." he scanned his mind quickly for something to ask her about, "Why do you always wear a hood?"

"Why do you want to know?" she stiffened, dropping her crossed arms to her lap and fiddling with the bottom of her sweatshirt.

"I'm just curious..."

"That's a story I probably shouldn't tell you," Terezi was obviously extremely uncomfortable with the topic and Dave dropped it immediately.

"Hey, do you hear something?" he asked, frowning and turning towards the door. A soft ringing noise seemed to quickly be gathering volume as it moved towards them, as though a line of bells were being set off one by one.

"I do," she was as confused as he was. It didn't sound like anything good, and the bell was extremely close now.

"Holy shit, I think it's the fire alarm!" Dave cried as he shot to his feet, eyes rushing to the sprinkler mounted in the middle of the ceiling. Sure enough, before Terezi had time to react, the bell had reached them and the water spout was spraying them both.

"Fuck!" she held up her arms to shield her face from the droplets, but it was no use. The room was already drenched, and so was she.

"Come on, we have to get out!" Dave grabbed her now slick palm and pulled her to her feet, then cocked an eyebrow when he saw the sticky peach makeup that had washed off in his hand, "Terezi?" he looked back to her, but her arms were covering her face.

"Just move!" she shoved him with her hip, and he opened the door without another question. They reached the front door quickly, and passed through the doorway into the hall. Everywhere they went, water rained down on them. Hard.

Terezi and Dave jumped the stairs two at a time, often catching glimpses of other terrified residents as they breathed smoke the closer they got to the ground floor.

"Almost out!" Dave gasped to his friend, tired from running so many stairs so quickly.

"You have to take me to the back of the building when we get out, got it? Make sure no one sees me," Terezi hissed under her breath so only he could hear. Her red sleeves still covered her face, but they were now coated thoroughly in the makeup she had been wearing.

"Alright?" he agreed and shoved open the building doors, then wrapped one arm around her waist and took her to the back of the building to hide.

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**I think you all know what's about to happen, right? I've lost the element of surprise! Oh well, I just hope I can make it the best it can be. I might spend a little extra time on it, most of these chapters I've hammered out pretty damn quick, right? Shitty quality but I like to update. I'll try super hard, but you'll have to wait! While you do, make sure to review! Remember, criticism is pretty great, too, and it'll help make everything else better! ~ Slurry out.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I almost uploaded this a few hours ago with a couple hundred less words. Basically, I am not capable of writing long chapters, and for that I apologize. **

**bloody raptor- Thank you so much for your feedback, I keep trying and failing to write multiple things happening at once. I will definitely take all you said into account and improve that aspect.**

**ironicdancing- Thank _you_, too. Every time I update I look forward to your reviews, they're very uplifting! But maybe you could do with a little less sugar sometimes x3**

**Anyway, read!**

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"Are there any people?"

"No," Dave scanned the area quickly and replied, but didn't drop his arm from around Terezi's waist, hoping she didn't notice.

"Can you keep a secret, Dave? A really, really big one?" she was much more quiet than normal, her voice wavering just a little bit.

"Probably," Dave shrugged, not grasping the importance of the question in any way as he continued to look around for other people.

"I need that to be a really fucking strong '_yes'_ before I can tell you," upset, she hissed her statement and twisted her hip so that Dave's hand fell from it.

"Fine, yes. I can keep a secret," he was a bit concerned now, what kind of secret could warrant this kind of behavior? His red eyes trained on her slightly shaking form dripping with peach makeup.

"If you tell anyone, it is completely in my power and my friends' powers to kill you immediately," she warned. He blinked twice in surprise, she was really serious. His better judgement warned him not to take the burden of the cursed words, but now he was just too curious to deny them.

"Why are you telling me?" Dave may have been overcome by a burning curiosity, but he wasn't stupid enough to not request any information on this secret before accepting it.

"I would have to show you, anyway, but I need to know that you won't tell. My life basically depends on it, okay?" Terezi's arms were getting tired of covering her face, and she was considering dropping them.

"Fine. Tell me," the boy was completely unprepared when she let her arms fall back to her sides, totally not ready to witness the face of the girl he had been starting to like in a non-friendship kind of way without all the caked on makeup he had never known she wore. Her arms were slathered mercilessly with the paint that had been far too water-soluble. Dave had to bite his bottom lip to hold back an insulting gasp when he saw her gray skin spotted with patches of peach in areas water hadn't touched.

Terezi's eyes were still lined with the concealing substance, as well as the creases in her cheeks and nose, her hairline, and some of her lower neck. Dave couldn't begin to guess what she was, his only idea was that she had some sort of skin condition, but that didn't seem like something her life depended on. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he rubbed his thumb under her eyes and the other places where makeup remained. When most of the paint was off, she looked much better.

Her gray cheeks were spotted with dabs of teal, same as her sleeves. The jacket was probably ruined, a shame, but that wasn't the current issue. She hadn't been able to help a few turquoise tears slipping from her burnt eyes over the prospect of possibly losing Dave's friendship and trust. Before, she had only a hint of flush for him, but now that she realized she may lose him, attraction was throbbing in her chest like a second heart. How it was possible to like a human, of all creatures, so _damn_ much she didn't know, but it was definitely happening.

"I don't understand," Dave broke their silence with his confession, unsure of how having gray skin threatened his friend's life.

"Dave, I am not a human," Terezi whispered, almost hoping he didn't hear.

"What do you mean? You look pretty human to me," he stared at her, taking in the smudgy gray and pink.

"I'm from another planet. Another universe," she said only a bit louder.

"What are you, then?" the blonde asked carefully, still not completely understanding.

"My species are called Trolls. Remember that story I told you?" Dave nodded yes to her question, remembered she couldn't see, repeated his answer verbally, and she continued, "All of my friends I told you about are from another planet, too. Karkat, Sollux, everyone. Even Vriska. We came here because our planet was doomed."

"So... You're really serious about this?"

"Absolutely..." she reached her hands up to her head, paused for a moment, then tugged her hood down and pulled off her hat. She could hear Dave fail to muffle another choked out gasp, and his body moved closer to hers.

"These are _real?_" he touched one of her pointed horns gently, and she shivered.

"Yes," she pulled her hood back on but kept her hat in her hand as she buttoned the holes around her conicular masses of candy corn colored bone, "Could you please take me home? People will probably just think I'm in costume or something."

"Sure," he agreed quickly, taking her arm and leading her back to the front of the building.

"Thank you..." Terezi said softly, wondering if this would affect Dave's feelings towards her a significant amount.

"What happened?" he asked one of the other residents outside the building as they passed.

"Some idiot left his stove running and it caught a few towels on fire, they put it out already," a gruff, manly voice replied with a disgusted _hmph_, "The water ruined everything in the building, though."

"Great..." Dave groaned and returned his attention to Terezi.

"I'm sorry that you had to find out this way, Dave," she mumbled in his direction.

"It's fine, I understand why you wouldn't tell me," he shrugged, "But now that I know, can I meet all your friends?"

"What? You really want to?" her back straightened in surprise and she stopped walking.

"Definitely," he grinned.

"Even the murderer?" the disbelief in Terezi's voice was plain and obvious.

"Yeah, even her. It's kind of cool to finally figure out what's different about you guys, y'know," he was not taking this at all how she had expected.

"I don't know about that, Dave. They might get upset..."

"Aw, come on! Please?"

"Alright, fine. But you have to let me check with them first, okay?"

"Yes! Awesome!

"I don't see why you want to meet them..."

* * *

A short walk later and they had both arrived back at the house they had began at. They crossed the street to the right side and Dave showed Terezi to the door, then pushed her key into the lock when she couldn't find the slot.

"Hide," she ordered as she twisted the little silver shard of metal to open the door, and Dave hopped off the side of the three cement stairs leading to the house, ducking under the window. The door opened, and Terezi walked inside as quietly as she could, feeling around on the walls with her hands so she didn't fall as she had forgotten her cane at Dave's apartment.

"Terezi? You're back already?" a light female voice Dave had never heard called from upstairs. She hadn't shut the door, so he could hear everything going on.

"Something happened," Terezi replied loudly, "I need to talk to you, Kanaya, could you come down here?"

"I'm coming," delicate footsteps were barely audible as they tapped down the stairs, "Weren't you wearing makeup when you left?"

"Yes, that's kind of the problem. The human I was with saw me without it on and I had to explain that we aren't human. Now he wants to come inside to meet you all," Terezi sounded a bit exasperated as she explained, but only to feign upsetness. Really, she couldn't have been more thrilled that Dave saw her difference as a good feature and that he wanted to meet her friends.

"You can't be serious! He could tell somebody!" Kanaya's voice translated her surprise and fear in one worried tone, she glanced over at the open door and hurried to shut it, "I thought I've told you to shut the door, too!"

"Sorry, but he's right outside!" after Terezi's explanation, the door slammed back shut and Dave couldn't hear any more of their conversation. He waited, crouched under the window, for what he assumed was something like five minutes, but seemed like at least 30. After a while, he finally stood up and stretched his legs, wandering over to the stone steps and sitting on the bottom one to wait. After another good ten minutes, the door finally opened again, and Dave looked back to see Karkat glaring down at him, fury practically leaping from his sockets and running down to choke him.

"How the FUCK did you find out?" he growled.

"Fire. Sprinklers. Non-waterproof makeup," Dave answered quickly. He wanted to mess with him a little bit, but now did not seem like the best time for that sort of thing.

"What did she tell you?" Karkat's glare did not lose one hair of anger.

"That you're aliens, right?"

"She needs to learn to keep her goddamn fucking mouth shut..." the mutant blood narrowed his eyes at Dave, then stepped aside from the door, "You can come in, but if you tell _anybody_, it will be my pleasure to slice off your fucking head."

"Awesome," he stood without answering to the threat and followed Karkat inside.

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**Again, really sorry for my inability to write long chapters. I've been getting especially sidetracked lately, I have a lot of stuff I volunteered for and now cannot carry out, which makes me feel really terrible, so I spend like an hour every night feeling guilty as fuck. Maybe in the future when I have a little less guilt and a little more time I'll work on improving chapter length. Review :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Holy shit, I am so sorry! I was just smacked in the face with the fucking lazy stick, I guess. I cannot say how sorry I am, seriously. Arghhh! Just read please holy FUCK... *goes to hit face against wall***

* * *

Inside the house was much darker than Dave had expected. He blinked a few times to help his eyes adjust to the dim lighting, though it didn't take long, as he was used to viewing the world through tinted plastic. Terezi was waiting by the stairs, leaning on the railing with her ruined sweatshirt hanging over her shoulder. For the first time, Dave got to see what she was wearing underneath, a black t-shirt with a teal libra symbol across her chest. Clutched in her hand was a different cane, this one with a white dragon's head on top. Karkat slammed the door shut behind Dave and stomped up the stairs angrily.

"Dave?" Terezi reached out a hand and he took it, "Let's go upstairs."

"Sure," he stepped closer so they didn't have to stretch their arms and she turned on her heel, dropping his hand to grip the railing and work her way upwards. He followed close behind until they reached the top floor, where she began running her hands across the walls, stopping at the first door she touched.

"This is Karkat's room," she explained.

"How about we don't go in there?"

"Sounds good," Terezi grinned, flashing her sharp teeth and stepping across the hallway to the next door. She curled her fingers into a fist and rapped gently with her knuckles, "Aradia?" she called softly towards the inside of the room.

"Wait, wasn't she the one you said die-" Dave was cut off as Terezi punched his arm, aiming for his gut.

"Shh!" No verbal answered emanated from behind the wood, but some metallic clanks and smashing sounds could be heard just before it flashed open. Dave almost fell backwards in surprise when he saw who had opened it, a silver android with glowing red eyes, wickedly curved metal horns, and a long skirt. He shuddered when he peered into her single-colored sockets.

Once the door was open, she stepped back to allow the visitors entry. There was a pile of various debris and rubble in the far corner, and a gray arm was quite visible poking out from the bottom. Terezi took a displeased sniff as she entered, and Dave uncertainly followed.

"I smell milk... Is Equius in here?" the pile of broken pieces of _something_ shifted, and the person underneath shoved it onto the ground and stood.

"Yes, I am," a low voice mumbled a bit indignantly, he seemed upset that he had been buried so easily, even though the weight of those pieces had probably been enough to crush a human. As soon as he was at his full height, though, Dave couldn't understand how he had even been forced under in the first place. He was absolutely massive, and probably incredibly strong, too. A few of his teeth were missing, and one of his two horns had been broken. Being a teenaged boy, Dave couldn't help but think that the whole one looked just a bit like a dick, though.

Equius's hidden gaze landed on Dave, and he tilted down his cracked glasses to look at him better with a confused expression.

"Terezi, why have you brought a human to our shared human hive without explicit permission from all residents?" he looked over to her.

"Karkat said I could, and he's the _leader_ isn't he? Besides, if you didn't want to see him, it's your fault for not being in your own respite block," she shrugged and turned to leave, motioning for Dave to follow.

"If you are going to bring him in here, the decent thing to do would be to introduce us at the least," Equius grimaced at her rudeness. She turned back around.

"Fine, this is Dave. Dave, this creep here is Equius, and the robot has Aradia's ghost in it," she turned around yet again, and actually left this time, Dave following and leaving the pair alone.

"_Ghost?" _

"Yes, ghost. I told you the story, didn't I? She died."

"Well, yeah, but..." Dave paused, unable to create a decent question, "Nevermind... Who's next?" Terezi crossed the hallway again and felt for a door, finding the knob easily.

"This room belongs to Tavros, I told you about him, too, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Dave nodded, forgetting that his guide couldn't see for a moment. She knocked on the wood above the knob.

"Who's there?" a feeble voice called almost inaudibly from deep inside the room, "I'm, uh, kind of busy."

"My human friend came to visit, do you want to meet him?" Terezi called, more gently than she spoke with other people, as though she was afraid to upset her friend.

"Uh, okay... Sure?" Terezi pushed the door open to a messy room plastered with fantasy posters and littered with trading cards and strangely colored stuffed bear-like creatures. Near the corner, covered in a bit of a shadow from the walls, was a boy huddled in a wheelchair, shuffling through trading cards in his lap. His hair was cut around his massive horns that reminded Dave of a bull in a way.

"Tavros, this is Dave," Terezi introduced him and Dave gave a little wave of his hand as a greeting.

"Hey."

"Uh, hi," Tavros stuttered, looking down at his lap.

"Should we move on?" Terezi asked, looking a little bit uncomfortable.

"Alright, I guess so. Bye, Tavros," Dave waved again as he turned to leave.

"Could you please, um, shut the door?"

"Sure," Terezi groped for the knob on the white door for a few seconds before Dave used her wrist to guide her hand there. They left.

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**Again, really sorry, guys... I was planning to update a lot sooner, but... Stuff. BTW if anyone is in the area around the OR convention center and is planning to go to WizardWorld Portland I am so going to be around there on the 25th. Not in the convention, of course(I'm not paying 35 bucks psh), I'll be in the lobby, then the Chocolate Festival. As either Kanaya or Meulin, not sure.**

**Okay I hope this was at least a decent chapter, I was just being depressy and shit. Don't even ask. Please. Just review the story, not my personal life.**


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